Whole Roasted Chicken Recipes

SIMPLE WHOLE ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a bowl, mix the salt, sugar, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Rub the chicken with the mixture. Cover chicken, and place in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
• Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).
• Stuff the chicken cavity with the garlic. Place the chicken, breast side down, on a rack in a roasting pan.
• Roast 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce heat to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C), and continue roasting 15 minutes. Baste chicken with pan drippings, reduce heat to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C), and continue roasting 30 minutes, to an internal temperature of 180 degrees F (85 degrees C). Let stand 20 minutes before serving.

PERFECT ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.
• Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.

WHOLE ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven and a roasting tray to 220ºC/425ºF/gas 7.
• Pick and finely chop the soft herbs, halve the lemon and tear the bay leaves.
• Rub inside the chicken cavity with sea salt, then carefully grab the skin at the tip of the chicken breasts, making sure that it doesn't rip, and pull up gently. With your other hand gently separate the skin from the meat of the breast - it's normally connected by a little bit of tissuey-type stuff, and you can either leave this attached in the middle and make two little tunnels either side or you can try to cut away the middle.
• Sprinkle a little salt down the gaps that you have made, push in most of the chopped herbs and drizzle in a little oil.
• Push the lemon halves into the cavity along with the bay and rosemary sprigs, then pull the skin of the chicken breast forward so that none of the flesh is exposed, tuck the little winglets under, and tie up as firmly as possible.
• Rub a little oil all over the chicken skin, scatter over the remaining chopped herbs and season very generously with salt and black pepper. Slash each thigh about 3 or 4 times to allow the heat to penetrate directly.
• Remove the hot tray from the oven and drizzle with a little oil. Put the chicken into the tray, breast-side down and leaning to one side, then place in the oven. Roast for 5 minutes, then lean it to the other side, still breast-side down. Cook for another 5 minutes, then place the chicken on its bottom and cook for 1 further hour, or until golden and cooked through - the skin should be really crispy and the herbs will flavour the meat- this really must be the best roast chicken. Trust me - it's not fiddly, it's pukka.

JUICY ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Place chicken in a roasting pan, and season generously inside and out with salt and pepper. Sprinkle inside and out with onion powder. Place 3 tablespoons margarine in the chicken cavity. Arrange dollops of the remaining margarine around the chicken's exterior. Cut the celery into 3 or 4 pieces, and place in the chicken cavity.
• Bake uncovered 1 hour and 15 minutes in the preheated oven, to a minimum internal temperature of 180 degrees F (82 degrees C). Remove from heat, and baste with melted margarine and drippings. Cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest about 30 minutes before serving.

THE BEST ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Mix butter, garlic, thyme, rosemary, lemon zest, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper together in a bowl.
• Loosen skin on chicken breast; rub butter mixture between skin and breast meat. Press on the skin to distribute evenly. Rub oil, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper all over; place lemon halves inside cavity. Set in a baking pan.
• Roast in the preheated oven, basting after 30 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink, about 1 hour. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone, should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Let rest before carving, about 15 minutes.

MOIST ROASTED WHOLE CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 450 degrees before starting to prepare the chicken.
• Place the whole chicken into a medium sized baking pan.
• Rub the entire bird with the olive oil.
• In a small bowl combine the salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and paprika, then sprinkle evenly over chicken.
• In the preheated oven bake the chicken for 20 minutes.
• Lower the oven to 400 degrees.
• Continue baking for 40-50 minutes, or until golden brown and juices run clear.
• If your chicken looks like it is browning too quickly, Lay a sheet of tin foil over the top loosely and it will slow down the browning for you.
• Let the chicken rest in it's juices for at least 10 minutes before carving and serving. (This let's the bird reabsorb some of the juices and helps to make it even more moist.).

WHOLE ROASTED GO-TO CHICKEN

Steps:

• To make garlic butter: In a food processor, combine all ingredients. Blend until a perfectly smooth paste forms.
• To make chicken: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. With clean hands, wash the chicken, remove the giblets, and pat the chicken completely dry with paper towels. Lightly grease the bottom of a sturdy roasting pan. Salt the inside of the chicken with 1 teaspoon sea salt and stuff with the lemon wheels, thyme, rosemary, and garlic. Using butcher's twine, truss the chicken (breast side up), making sure to tuck in the wings and legs tightly. Place the chicken in the roasting pan and generously baste it with the garlic butter. Cover the chicken loosely with aluminum foil and roast for approximately 2 hours. (Cook whole roasting chickens, fully thawed, 20 to 25 minutes per pound.) Remove the foil for the last 30 minutes of roasting time. Make sure the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F, the juices run clear, and the flesh is firm to the touch.

WHOLE ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Position a rack in the center of the oven.
• Arrange the pearl onions and carrots in the bottom of a roasting pan. Drizzle with the wine. Set a roasting rack in the center of the pan on top of the vegetables and brush with the oil so that the chicken doesn't stick.
• Place the chicken, breast-side up, on the rack. Sprinkle the chicken all over with salt and pepper. Put the pan in the center of the oven and roast until the juices run clear or an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh (avoiding bone) registers 165 degrees F. (I calculate cooking about 15 minutes per pound of bird, so for a 4-pound bird I check the juices and temperature after 1 hour of cooking.)
• Remove the chicken from the oven and allow it to rest in the pan for at least 10 minutes or up to 20.
• Transfer the chicken to a cutting board, gently placing it breast-side down so the juices can flow through the breast meat as it rests for an additional 10 to 15 minutes.
• Place the roasting pan with the vegetables on a burner on the stove and add the chicken stock and mustard. Simmer gently, scraping any bits of chicken fat and skin from the bottom. Let the sauce simmer a little with the vegetables, 2 to 3 minutes. Add half the butter and cook, about 1 minute. Remove the vegetables from the pan to a plate. Add the lemon juice, half the tarragon and 1 more tablespoon butter. Allow the butter to melt, then remove the gravy to a serving bowl.
• Turn the chicken breast-side up on a cutting board and carve. (The cut side will need some seasoning.) Rub the remaining butter onto the carved chicken breast meat and season with salt. Sprinkle with the remaining tarragon. Serve the chicken with the sauce and vegetables on the side.